CHEAP and Great Alternative Coil Springs '49 thru '59 Ford and Merc

Ok so I just read this thread and im Con-fucked. I guess what they say about me really is true, i am a retard. I am looking to replace my front shocks and wanted to lower my 50 Ford 4Dr sedan in the process. What kind of shock/spring combo should I use? My front Bumper is up at little over 13'' from the ground rite now and the back is about 9.25 from ground. The back was lowered by blocks by someone else. I want to take the blocks out to shave them down to make the Rear measure about 10 or so inches from ground. Just wanting to find out what combo of Spring and Shock I should use for say a 2 or 3 inch lowering of the front on my 50 Shoebox.

 

Did anyone end up using these on a 49-51 Merc? Does it work?

 

Just did my 54 Merc last weekend!

I did a 3" drop in the back and a 4" drop in the front. For the back I used Speedway Motors lowering block kit part # 910-43809 running $29.99 and for the front I used a set of coils out of a 1986-97 Ford Aerostar Moog Coil Spring part # CC850 running $60.00 and a set of Gabriel gas shocks part # 82026 running around $34.00.

 

Damn wish I would have known this before I bought mine.

 

Sunvalley54, do you have before and after pictures?

 

If the Aerostar,or any other coil springs,were to throw off the camber,all you'd need to do,on a 54-up,would be to add shims between your a-arms and their mounts.I've found that it's easiest to do it with the wheels on flat ground,a straight edge with a magnetic degree gauge placed vertically on the outside of your wheel/tire..Then you loosen the a-arm nuts a bit,pry it apart,and add the required amount of shims to get your correct camber.Make sure to add the same amount/size of shims front and rear.

As for the 49-53's,the factory manual says to just crank on your upper kingpin bolt until you get it where you want.

I had cut down stock coils in my 55 tudor years ago,and f-ed up the camber like WHOA! Shims cured it.

I'll be putting the Aerostar coils in BOTH my 53 and 55 next week..

My 2 million Pesos..

 

I do I will load them up tonight!

 

Look back a couple pages at my posts. It explains it all.

 

PRAISE THE LOWERED!

So I finally went ahead and tackled this swap due to getting a flat the week before. Looking at my car with no wheels on it became apparent that it needed to get closer to terra firma.

Image 1:
3.5 inch difference over stock.

Image 2:
22.75 inches with the appropriate tire tuck.

My car already had 2.75 inch drop spindles on it prior. The car now scrapes when I get in and out of the driveway.

The bumpstops get hit once in a while over really bad roads, but for the most part it rides as good as this old suspension can get without re-engineering it. I am using KYB white shocks for dampening.



Thanks to Jerry for coming over and helping me out midway.

 

Desertdroog, that's a beautiful sight! What a great look. I plan on doing ours in the spring...lol...no pun intended.

 

lol

 

How did he figure this out? I have a 61 ford falcon and was going to try the same thing but had no idea where to start. Any idea?

 

Droog, are the springs you used the Moog or Spicer items? Would you mind providing the item#. Also, does KYB make the dual post kind of shocks or did you have to modify the lower shock mount? This info would be totally helpful. Thanks in advance.

 

I used Moog # CC850 springs. The KYB's are a single post top and it has an H bar for the bottom. So, it just bolts right in. Make sure you use a washer as the bolt ends can slip half-way in.

Front kyb KG4503 stock rear kyb KG5517, I think, I would have to check my records of what I used because in the same time I was looking up parts for this car I came across a lowered rear KYB pn KG5514 which is - extended 4" shorter than stock, compressed is 2" shorter than stock. Or KG4503 which is - extended 3" shorter than stock 1"1/4" shorter compressed than stock.

 

I was really interested in the front shocks. I have air shocks with a compressor setup in the rear, so I am good with that. Thanks for the response. Do you have any pics of the shock mounts in the front?

 

Sorry I don't have any images of the shock mounts. The best way I can describe them is they just go through the hole in the bottom of the A arm up through the spring to the shock tower with a pad under and over, on one post with a double nut on top to cinch down as the shaft does turn under torque.

The bottom has a cross bar with two slots on the end, that I bolt from under to the lower spring pad on the lower A arm.

 

Ok, here are some side shots I took:
http://images52.fotki.com/v733/photos/4/266534/8159695/118_1899-vi.jpg

http://images53.fotki.com/v419/photos/4/266534/8159695/119_1903-vi.jpg

 

OH MAN! JUST WHAT I NEEDED!

im definitely going to use this for my 52!...

 

Will these coils fit my 1960 Ford Fairlane? A friend of mine has a 1965 Ford country squire and he wants to lower his ride too. Do they fit his car?

 

I put a set of these in my '54 Ford and worked great....now me thinks that it is time to cut a coil and get her a little bit lower....I am chocked full of bad ideas.

 

Just did this on my lincoln tonight. Wish I had listened to Buckeye 01!!! WAY TO LOW. It looks great, but is riding on the bump stops.

 

Sounds Great, will they fit a 49 Merc. Thanks

 

NO!!!!! unless you want to ride on the bump stops, in which case I will have a set for sale here shortly!

Edit: seems they work for Merc, just not lincoln in 49-51

 

My friend with a 51 Mercury, took frontcoils from a 1980 Malibu 5,7/ 350 diesel, and cut of two coils. Looked nice and worked ok. Shocks in front was Gabriel 63359 from Dodge B-series.

For Europeans: Mercury 49-51 can have rear shocks from Opel Frontera. Works well with 4 inch lowering blocks and original leafsprings. (Tested on dirttrack on Kala Raceway by a other friend with a 49 Mercury)


Picture borrowed from Pit Stop, Norwegian Part Pusher:

 

Anyone know of a spring that will work on a 49-54 Chevy

 

Interesting as mine will be lowered 4" in the rear. Year of make for the Opel rear shocks?

 

Ask your friend (or anyone else that knows) which spring would fit the 1949 dodge coronet. They sound pretty close. I'm needing to replace mine on the coronet.

 

For those who do their own research:
You'll have to remove the coil springs in your car for comparison to the new ones in style/wire size/spring rate.
Your local auto parts store will have Moog coil spring catalog you need to look at.
First, check the older car listings and see if your car is listed, write down the part number.
Second, go to the back of the book and find the section listing your style of spring(pigtail, etc., combinations). This will give you all the springs of that style with height, wire size, diameter and spring rate. Find the diameter and wire size matching your spring then check the lengths and spring rates. You should know the weight of your car as a guesstimate for spring rate.
When you find a part number which matches your specs, is shorter BUT not too short, look up the application to compare vehicle size/weight with yours. You'll see the relationships quickly. If all looks good, order up a set of springs...
IF all goes well and the car rides well, is lower but not too low, pass on that information to others. It's OK to make a generalization like 52-54 Ford cars, if you have a 53, or 49-54 Chevy cars, if you have a 52, but don't throw in Mercuries or Lincolns or Pontiacs or Oldsmobiles unless you've done one too and KNOW.

Enjoy the ride. Nothing cheaper and easier once the research is done.

 

for my 54 the only ones that worked were the cordova ones that were listed last. they are the only ones that had the stud on both ends. the others have eyelets...
hope this helps you with shock orders... xoxo denise i'll post when i get em in. napa 31 bucks each!!!

 

Has anybody done a swap like this on a 58-64 chevy?